Are We Getting Any Healthier

I just read this quote-
"If medicine is about health, then why do we keep building more hospitals"
-Dr. Haggerton


And then I just saw this article- "Physician offices projected to see a decade of significant job growth"
 http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/01/11/bil20111.htm


Which poses the question, if the medical field is growing, then are we getting healthier?  Which is a fair question to ask.  If we aren't getting healthier, then where is our money going to?  What about all our resources and research?  What about the whole medical system?  If we aren't getting healthier, then are we headed in the right direction?  We need to take a long hard look at the current system we are cycling in and see where we stand.  If the field is growing, if the research is moving forward, if our technology is advancing- then shouldn't we see a dramatic increase in health?


There is a governmental program that looks at this very issue and monitors the health care of this country.  For every decade they make goals for those ten years and work to progress in those goals.  This is called Healthy People, which has just recently ended.  The most recent is called Healthy People 2010 and the results will come out this spring to look back on the past decade.  But there is an article that has taken an early glimpse on the predicted results.  http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/05/05/early-report-card-on-healthy-people-2010-barely-a-c/.


So how do we measure up?  Not good.  Only 19% of the goals set we actually met and only 52% of the goals are predicted to show any progression.  This is not a final result, but statistics show that many major health issues continue to climb in numbers, such as Smoking, Obesity, and Diabetes.  And even though Heart Disease has declined, it has completely missed the mark.  The article rates our Health Goals with a low C grade.  The new Healthy People 2020 has just begun, hopefully we can make better progress.  But we can see that the system we are trapped in is not going to get us there.


I just wanted to add a couple articles that were brought to my attention that have been related to some previous posts.  I hope you read them.  They are short and an easy read, and they give some great insight on the subjects.  The first article shares how forward head posture is related to tension headaches.  It was just nice to see something out there backing up the importance of keeping good posture and a good curve in our neck.  This article only touches on the association of headaches, but hopefully you can see the other effects it can have on our body systemically. http://drmaj.com/new-study-shows-how-chiropractic-can-help-with-tension-headaches/.  


The next article just came out and was shared this morning. http://www.yourspine.com/Chiropractic/Chiropractic%20Improves%20Brain%20Function.aspx. It helps back up my recent post on Parkinsons Disease and how Chiropractic can help with brain function. "Chiropractic adjustments have a positive effect on the Central Nervous System (CNS), specifically on the four primary frequencies of brain function  . . . associated with a greater degree of relaxation, health and healing."  Pretty awesome stuff!